Radio Gaga

 

Just finished compiling my first Louder Than War radio show for 2022. It’ll be my fifth show for the station and the feedback has been very positive. Anyone who puts together a regular radio show will tell you how time-consuming and how much effort goes into doing so. Sure, I could rock up at 10pm on a Monday night and play two hours of random stuff off my hard drive, and probably get away with it. But that’s not really how it’s done…

No, I get sent loads of stuff – and it’s both a joy and an endurance test to trawl through it. I’m looking forward to airing forthcoming releases from Oorya and Tits Up on Monday, plus there are sessions to organise. I don’t have a studio where a band can broadcast live, so they have to be pre-recorded. Howl In The Typewriter recorded their recent session and sent it over, and Kieron Dyson has even invited me to his house to record his – which will air this Monday (3rd Jan). Looking further ahead, there should be sessions from Oorya, Rhys Trimble (Lolfa Binc) and Why Bother?

Why indeed bother… Because I loves it I do.

And speaking of love, music, and memories — my mind’s been wandering back to venues of the past, the ones that burned bright and then, sometimes quite literally, burned out. One in particular was The Dome in Caernarfon. Before it was a nightclub, it was a grand old super-cinema called The Majestic, opening in the early 20th century and seating more than a thousand people. In its day it was a plush palace of flickering light, but like so many single-screen cinemas, it couldn’t compete with changing habits. The Majestic closed in 1984, and after a short spell of limbo it was reborn as a nightclub.

In its final incarnation as The Dome, it became a familiar late-night haunt for a generation — a place of big nights out, questionable dance moves, and the sort of sweat-and-smoke atmosphere you just don’t get anymore. But its story ended suddenly. In 1994, a fire ripped through the building, leaving nothing but memories and rubble. It wasn’t just the loss of a club — it was the loss of a landmark, a piece of Caernarfon’s social and cultural DNA.

Places like The Dome stick in the mind because they’re tied up with youth, music, and the feeling that anything could happen after dark. They might be gone physically, but the stories keep them alive — in conversations, and in facebook posts, as Bangor's goth-industrialists Skinflick lay claim to burning it down after playing there, possibly the only time it was used as a venue?

See you Monday, 10pm, on Louder Than War Radio. Listen here.

CrudCast #3

Just went out tonight, and what a mad mix it was. Streaming quality is still ropey as hell — sounds like you’re listening through a wet sock at 24k — but that’s the state of the net in 2001. Doesn’t matter though, because the content carried it, well almost...

We kicked things off with The BT Call, still the funniest phone rage ever captured: some poor chimp at BT phoning an angry Geordie who threatens to wring his “scrawny fucking neck.” Proper gold.

Then it was into the music:

• FLINCH – “Lucky”
  Wrexham lads, smartly dressed, semi-metal with a melodic crunch. “Lucky” is their best tune so far — tight, heavy, catchy.

• CARPET – “One Two Fuck You” (Live)
  Straight out of Rhyl, recorded at The Breeding Ground. Rough, loud, and couldn’t care less. Pure live chaos, bottled.

• HYFRYD
  From the warped head of Johnny R-Bennig, all the way from Gwalchmai. Twisted, surreal, and sounds like it was beamed in from another planet, as was Johnny.

• SKINFLICK – “Two Ton Loser”
  Bangor’s mutant industrial punk crew, always up to strange nocturnal antics. They don’t play by anyone’s rules, and this track proves it.

• HOBO – “Trencherman”
  Ended on something special. “Trencherman” is just wonderful — deep, sprawling, and sticks in your head long after.

So yeah, that was the show. Rough stream, local bands, weird humour, angry Geordies,

[AUDIO LONG SINCE REMOVED - NOTHING LASTS FOREVER - YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT BY NOW]